Distant Dreamers
by xXMidnightHuntressXx
Summary: What happens when Ash and Meghan share the same dream shortly after Iron Knight begins? Oneshot


**Sorry this is a tiny spoiler for those who haven't yet read the book~ but I wrote all this out before I read about Ash and Puck and them getting attacked by the hobyahs…but I still really wanted to post the fic so here it is:) It's just a small one shot about what I thought would happen if Ash and Meghan happened to share the same dream just shortly after Ash started on his journey to be with Meghan in the Iron Knight. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Iron Fey series or any of its characters.**

**Distant Dreamers **

Ash POV

I let myself rest that night, knowing Robin Goodfellow was keeping watch. Not very reassuring, but when your only other choice was the cat that disappeared at any hint of danger, your choices were limited. Sleep didn't happen to come at first; I was starting to think it wouldn't. I kept tossing restlessly, thinking that someone or something was going to catch our scents and come after us.

"Look Ice-boy," Goodfellow called, interrupting my thoughts. "I'm not stupid." _Speak for yourself, _I thought. "If you don't trust me to keep watch, then why don't you do it?" He asked me.

I opened one eye to look at him, taking in his loose, relaxed posture near a tree across from the one I had chosen to rest by. "Because it's your turn." I told him simply, although this was the third time in a row that I'd made him keep watch first. You could never really tell with that one considering he hardly took much seriously these days. Come to think of it, I couldn't think of any day he'd ever taken anything seriously. Any matter, he was more likely to be more alert at the earlier time.

"Then why don't you get some shut eye?" He suggested, making a sleeping gesture at me by putting both hands together and leaning one of his cheeks up against them. He even went to the liberty of making some light snoring noises to add to the effect.

"I'm not very trusting of you." I told him in a curt tone.

"Well then it's going to be one long night." He sighed and our conversation stopped afterwards.

I closed my eyes again so I could keep my other senses alert. I had always used more of them when hunting so I was quite used to it by now. It wasn't long after that, though, that my exhaustion did manage to get the better of me and I found myself drifting…

…When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the forest. In fact, I wasn't sure where I was. I was indoors, and the room had a clear view of the night sky just outside of it. There was a large dresser against the wall next to it and I could make out a few doors in the dim light that the moon offered. Presuming they would stay closed, I let my gaze wander to the large canopy bed near the exact spot I happened to be standing. I wasn't able to make out the colors or shades of the sheets, but I did see that there was a sleeping form underneath them.

Leaning forward, I put a hand to my hip to reach for my sword and gasped. I looked down to confirm what I already knew. I didn't have my sword. I cursed silently to myself and looked around for another weapon to use if needed.

That was when the figure stirred. I froze and reached for the first thing in my line of sight: a chair seated right next to the bed itself.

I grabbed the chair and lifted it above my head, ready to use it at the first sight of danger. I watched the figure shift in the bed and push the covers aside in a distorted mess. Then I saw their face.

It was _her. _My eyes widened and I dropped my make shift weapon, causing the figure to sit up with a jolt. Wide eyes, _her _eyes, stared dazedly out into the night and then finally came to rest on my own silvery ones. My breathing hitched and I found myself leaning closer to her.

"Ash?" Her voice rang out in the darkness, a slight desperation to it. A pang went through me, hearing the raw emotion in her voice. Oh, how I had longed to hear that voice. To see her sweet, calm gaze focused on mine once more. It made my insides twist, though not in any uncomfortable way. Tentatively, I reached out a hand to lightly brush a few strands of hair out of her face. Her hand found mine and our fingers interlaced with one another's. I could start to feel my own heart, finally starting to feel itself grow whole again.

"Meghan." I whispered, all of my love for her clear in my voice, meant only for her. Then I pulled her to me and crushed her to my chest, hearing a dry sob escape through her lips.

I froze and frowned, looking back down at her. "Meghan?" I asked, my own voice filling with pain. Why was she hurting so?

She wouldn't look at me and I couldn't catch her gaze. Finally, starting to grow impatient, I cupped her chin and gently lifted her face to meet mine again. What I saw made my insides freeze. Her face, which had once been so open to me, as easy to read as a book, was now closed off to me and anyone. I let myself study her for a few moments, a deep frown pulling at the edges of my mouth.

"What happened?" I asked her, barely suppressed rage hidden in my voice. I watched her face but still she gave nothing away.

"You're not real." She said at last, her eyes taking on a subtle appearance. I just stared at her, trying to make sense of her words.

"Of course I am. Why else would I be standing here?" I asked, not sure what to make of her.

She shook her head quickly and pushed me away from her, getting up off of the bed and walking over to the window. Hurt shot through me. "It always starts this way, but it never lasts very long." She mumbled softly.

"What doesn't, love?" My gaze never left hers as she reached the window and just looked out it.

"The dream."

My own eyes widened slightly and I had to bite back the small spark of joy that rose up inside of me. "You dream about me?"

"Every night."

A tiny flicker of something I couldn't decipher coursed through my bones. I stepped forwards towards her and paused just next to her. "And what happens in these dreams?"

She jumped and her eyes met mine for the slightest of seconds before flitting to settle on something else. For a moment, it had seemed like she had forgotten I could move about so easily.

"Same as always. You come in while I'm asleep and then no sooner than I realize you're here, you're gone." She murmured quietly. "This," She started again, reaching out to caress my cheek, "Doesn't last much longer."

"What do we talk about in these dreams?"

"We don't."

I raised an eyebrow at her and reached out to take her hand in mine. "Then why are we now?"

She blinked and then opened her mouth, like she'd already come up with a simple solution to my question, then closed it. A few moments passed and I was afraid it was going to require much more persuasion on my part to make her see that I really and truly was with her. "I can feel you Meghan." I told her, squeezing her hand gently in mine. "I can feel this and I know you can too."

She looked up at me, realization starting to dawn in her beautiful blue eyes. "I…I can feel you." She whispered. I nodded and flashed her a small smile.

"Ash." She whispered again, more feeling behind her voice this time. I could literally almost see her walls come crashing down before me.

Then suddenly, she was in my arms, her face buried up against my chest. My own body responded almost immediately, wrapping itself around her protectively. "I'll always be your knight." I told her softly, remembering my vow to her.

She paused and tried to pull back to look at me but my own arms tightened around her, keeping her there. "How are you here?" I heard her mumble into my shirt.

"I'm not sure." I answered her honestly, still trying to figure the answer to that out myself. "I'm just happy that I am."

I felt her body tense up a little and she nodded in agreement with me. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

I frowned and rested my chin against the top of her head. "What do you have to apologize for?" I asked her.

She kept going like she hadn't heard me. "I've never forgiven myself for that day. I never wanted to make you leave…but I wasn't going to watch you die, not if I could prevent it." I could hear the resolve starting to form in her words.

"I know." I nodded, bending my face forward to kiss the top of her head. "I shouldn't have…" I stopped and shook my head. "You shouldn't have had to watch me die. It shouldn't have happened that way." I sighed.

She shuddered and lifted her head to press up against my neck. That was when I felt it. I was starting to fade and I knew I wouldn't have much longer.

"Meghan," I drew back so that she could see my expression, view the seriousness in it. "We don't have much time and there's something that I need to tell you."

She looked up at me and a slightly panicked expression appeared on her face. I drew her back towards me as her breathing hitched, rubbing soothing circles along her back. "I thought this was different." She managed to get out.

"It is, don't you see? This is my dream too." I told her softly, not daring to raise my voice too much louder. "But listen, this is important." I squared my shoulders but kept her close.

"I am coming back." I told her, pressing a finger to her lips when she opened her mouth to protest. "I will be with you again." I continued. "By your side, as your knight if it pleases you." I hurried to add and she laughed once. "You have to believe me, Meghan. Have faith in me."

"I do have faith in you." She spoke quickly around my fingers.

"Then prove it." I told her, cupping her cheek in my hand. I watched her jaw set and she leaned forward to press her lips to mine. I kissed her hastily; knowing it was costing me what little was left of my time with her and then pulled back. "That wasn't what I meant." I smiled ruefully at her.

I watched the scarlet tint of her cheeks grow and my smile widened. "I love you, my Iron queen." I murmured gently, holding her even closer. My hands slid through her and my eyes widened. It appeared that my time here was up.

"I'm coming back." I managed to add to her again, my voice growing faint. You could still hear the determination in it though. I saw her eyes and managed to read the expression in them. Hope. Not much, but enough to keep me going. I couldn't let her down now and I wouldn't see that hope shattered, for it would shatter me as well and I would never forgive myself.

She opened her mouth but I couldn't hear what came out of it. I could, however, read her lips. She seemed to barely whisper the words, but I could hear them still. "I love you Ash." She said. "And I won't stop believing in you."

I smiled and I was still smiling, until I woke up. I could easily make out Puck's features as he shook me awake. "Hey, Ice-boy! It's your turn to keep watch."

I glared daggers at him and watched him smirk at me. "What's wrong? Did I interrupt your beauty rest?" He taunted me. I reached for my sword and held it to the tip of his throat. I wasn't in the mood to put up with his jokes anymore.

"Goodfellow." I got out, watching his slightly startled eyes with my narrowed ones. "I don't think I have ever wanted to kill you more than I do now." I hissed at him.

He raised his eyebrows at me and rolled his eyes, moving away from the sharp point of the sword. "If I knew you were going to be this pissy about it, I wouldn't have woken you your highness." He grumbles sleepily, leaning back up against his own tree and closing his eyes.

I sighed and pushed myself to my feet, scanning the perimeter. _If only you knew, Goodfellow. _I thought to myself. _If only you knew…_

I placed myself in between two trees as I watched, letting my thoughts drift back to Meghan. I sighed and started counting down the moments until I would see her again, leaving my other senses to alert me if anything happened to venture our way.

**Well that be all ^-^ and I hoped you liked it. Please R&R and let me know what you thought:D I need some constructive criticism so don't be afraid to really lay it on me lol...Oh! and when I wrote this I was reading through Iron Knight and had gotten to the part not too far from the beginning shortly after Puck and Ash's first night in the book together so I hadn't gotten to the part where Ariella comes in or where Ash actually went into Meghan's dream so sorry if that confused you any at all! Thanks!**

**-XxNewBeginningsxX**


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